Latin

     Latin was the language of the Romans Empire. It was originally spoken only in the city of Rome, but as the empire expanded, Latin became the official language of business and government for most of Western Europe. Many of the people spoke local languages. In time, the languages mixed with Latin to form what we now call Romance Language. Romance refers to the fact that the languages originated in Rome. The five Romance Languages spoken today are Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Romanian. Each of the languages is similar because they are all based on Latin. Once the Roman Empire dissolved, local dialects made the languages less similar.

     Most of the rest of the European people now speak Germanic or Slavic languages. Germanic languages are spoken primarily in northern Europe, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. Slavic languages are spoken mostly in Eastern Europe, primarily in Poland, Russia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Serbia. In the recent war in Kosovo, the Russian government supported Yugoslavia because the two nations have similar languages and cultures.

     Most of the people of Western Europe spoke Celtic languages before the Roman Empire. Celtic languages are mostly extinct today, which means they are no longer spoken by many people. English became the language of the British Isles when the British made Ireland, Scotland and Wales part of the United Kingdom. The influence of the Celts live on in stories and myths. Leprechauns, Halloween, and the Blarney Stone are examples of Celtic influence today. A few thousand people continue to speak Celtic languages, including Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. In Ireland and Wales, students are encouraged to study the traditional Celtic languages, but most speak English.